Teaching Children to Stand

Is your child standing holding on to the surface with both hands, maybe even cruising…but will not let go and attempt independent standing? Not to worry, I have some simple ideas to encourage independent standing, building static and dynamic balance to ease the transition to ambulation!

Motor Learning

Motor Learning occurs in stages and builds upon previously acquired skills. Standing occurs once child masters independent sitting and often times in conjunction with independent crawling. Once the childdemonstrates the strength, balance and coordination needed for further milestones, we can assist their motor development in a healthy and helpful manner.

Intrinsic and extrinsic feedback are both essential in the development of each new skill. For standing, intrinsic feedback involves proprioception, utilizing the ground surface to push off for support, finding aligned neutral position, and engaging the necessary musculature to maintain balance. We can use massage to provide graded input to the foot. In addition gentle joint compressions to the ankle, knee and hip can help promote awareness of each lower extremity joint.

Encouraging barefoot navigation as much as possible, allowing child to weight bear on different tactile surfaces, will help activate and develop the intrinsic muscles of foot which comprise the arch, so integral to child’s ability to stand and walk independently!

Standing Milestones

Pull to Stand: 7-9 months

Stand at Support Surface : 8-10 months

Stand Independently: 10-12 months

Tips to Encourage Independent Standing

Shift Focus

Take the focus off your child and more on the toys or objects (in this case a beautiful duck we spotted in the park!) that are motivating. Instead of saying, “Stand up and look at this duck” try, “Wow, I see a duck, let’s go get a closer look!”

Use Music

Find a song that your child likes and have a “dance party”. Once your child sees you standing and bouncing to the beat, offer them a hand to stand and join the fun. A good cadence can help encourage knee flexion/extension (facilitating leg musculature activation), which is important for independent standing and walking. Let the child hold an egg shaker or tambourine so that their hands are busy and they let go of your support!

Toy Placement

Keep things off the floor, using shelves or surfaces which allow placement of items at a height where child needs to stand and reach. We love our shape sorterfor this activity. You can place the different shapes at different levels to encourage squatting and standing!

Mix It Up

Change up the environment if you can; visit the park, the beach, friends/relatives houses, play spaces. It is important to generalize skills, new environments offer new challenges and new motivations!

Bring a Friend

Use one on one peer modeling (with peer who is standing/walking). Bring out toy in open space at a height that encourages standing and manipulating. Allow your child the opportunity to watch and engage with other child. Tossing a soft ballor balloon back and forth can be a great motivator for standing! This is also a great way to incorporate hand eye coordination skills!

Slam Dunk

Make your own basketball game using different objects to throw into receptacle (held higher to encourage standing). Think outside the box, for example throwing rolled up socks into laundry basket! Thischild-sized basketball hoop is a big hit in our house!

Standing Games

Standing games, like ring a round the rosy and parachute play, are great to promote standing as well as encouraging sit to stand transition!

Work Out

Bouncing and weight shifting on a therapy ballis a fun way to build trunk strength and stability needed for standing and walking.

Sensory Exploration

Allow your child to experience different textures with lower body and feet. This provides children with the necessary intrinsic feedback their body needs. We love the sandboxfor a great sensory experience, encouraging gross and fine motor development!

Go Baby Go!

Building confidence is half the battle, so be sure to allow for success in each activity and embrace your inner cheerleader! Motivate, encourage, participate!

Child is unable to pull to stand or sustain standing for more than a brief moment

Child demonstrates significant stiffness in standing

Child pulls to stand using arms only, without engaging leg muscles

Child demonstrates significant lean in standing, weight bearing mainly on one side

Child is not making incremental progress in motor milestone acquisition

Pediatric Physical Therapists can offer activity suggestions, equipment ideas, and help to assess any underlying reasons for the developmental concerns you may have. No judgments, just helpful guidance await if you reach out to the right professional!

Thanks for the specific ways to help! I’ve thought about music as a way to help my son get moving, but I never tried dancing with him. There are all sorts of little tips that I should be more aware of. I think I’m pretty good at being encouraging, but there’s always room to improve. http://www.bphrc.com